That water bodies are believed to be the gateways to the underneath spirit world, is not altogether uncommon belief but never has a man boasted to descend to the “gates of hell� by jumping into a river under the full glare of chanting and dancing onlookers.

Holy figures have been perceived in bricks, wooden logs, trees, sandwiches, eggs, a tortilla and so on. The phenomenon is so common that scientists have given it a name: pareidolia, the perception of patterns where none are intended.

Horror stories may be the place for vampires, ghosts and zombies. Just remember, they are not real, warns physicist Costas Efthimiou.

Statistical revelation: Religion going strong

Churchgoers in Britain are still highly superstitious and centuries of preaching the Gospel have failed to banish belief in omens and portents of good and bad luck.

Taipei , Taiwan -- Chin Wei considers a blockbuster American ghost movie and scoffs.

As 06/06/06 approaches, some feed off the devilish connotations, or laugh it off

JUNE 6, 2006 — 06/06/06 — is just weeks away and a date that is generating frenzied discussion and debate around the globe, not seen since the eve of the new millenium.

While some say June 6, 2006, is a day to fear for its biblical significance, officials see little to dread.

For one group of expectant mothers, their due date holds an extra dimension of dread. The prospect of giving birth on June 6, 6/6/06, has prompted talk of spawning devil children on Armageddon day.

Miraculous Encounters ; An Exhibition in Oxford Features Religious Images From North-West Italy That Are Said to Possess Supernatural Powers. Tom Lubbock Can't Believe His Eyes

China's obsession with online computer games has led to its first murder after one player killed another over a weapon that existed only in cyberspace.

Cairo - A South African woman and owner of a piece of jewellery believed stolen from the tomb of King Tutankhamen has asked the government in Cairo for help in breaking King Tut's curse after two members of her family suffered untimely deaths.

A new terror is washing over southern Thailand in the wake of the tsunami: ghosts.

Extract from A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles by Steve Roud (Penguin). Copyright Steve Roud, 2004.

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